Harbor house heaven

This hotel has the best location for anyone embarking on a cruise ship! It is within walking distance to the ship terminal and you can leave your car in the parking lot for a small fee.

The decor lends itself to the warehouse it truly was with wood paneling and wooden bed frames. The staff was friendly and helpful. We had fresh towels daily and plenty of bathroom amenities. Yes, there is a coffee maker in every room!

We have stayed here for the past few years. There are restaurants, shopping and sight seeing nearby. The harbor view is lovely and you can watch the cruise ships dock (if you can get up early enough!) We will return again!

Great location - Needs better management

My husband and I stayed at the Harbor House in Galveston for my birthday at the end of April. The hotel was completely booked that weekend, and we were delighted to have a room. We had stayed at this hotel many years ago, and our stay could not have been better, but I believe ownership and management have changed hands since that time.

The hotel is in a perfect location on the harbor. From your room you can watch ships entering the channel and private sailboats leaving the piers, and your location is walking distance from the Strand with its shopping and restaurants.

Our problems were with the condition of the hotel. While our room was fairly clean when we checked in on Friday night, the only service we had the entire weekend was to have our trash emptied. Our room was never vacuumed; wet towels were never removed or replaced; the tub and sink were not cleaned; our bed was never made. Early Saturday evening when we returned to our room, we called the desk to request fresh towels and room clean up. We were told that housekeeping had already left for the day. (I did not know that a hotel of this size or style would be without housekeeping!) The desk clerk did bring clean washcloths to our room one hour later, but she was not very apologetic or concerned.

Our hotel room was spacious - king bed, loveseat, chair, and coffee table. The only lighting was from three table lamps, and all three had very low wattage bulbs which could not provide reading light. All of the lamps had terrible shades which were torn and filled with holes. It really does not cost much to replace a lamp shade! The towels in our bathroom were old and tattered, and the sheets and blanket on our bed were not very nice either. The air conditioner in our room was so noisy that we slept very little the first night. In frustration, I finally hit it at 3 A.M., and it did make less noise. My husband was surprised to find that there was no internet service in our room or in any common room in the hotel.

This hotel property was built with charm and character, but the current management is letting it get very rundown. The staff is not courteous or happy. Any question is met with a frown - the hotel guest is definitely not a priority.

Continental breakfast is really a joke. It is set up on one floor of the hotel, and consists of cold packaged muffins, raisin bread, coffee, and juice. I could not find regular cream - only the flavored creams, and the cream cheese I used on the toast was rancid. Pretty picture, isn't it?

I would definitely want to stay at this hotel again, but only if management would do the few things required to upgrade. It seems like it would take very little to spruce up the linens and lamps, and good management could make a huge difference in front desk service and housekeeping.

My favorite

This is the place for a stay in the City of Galveston - rite next to the Historic, i.e. shopping, area and Seafood joints. The rooms are huge and the breakfast is good - served in the breakfast room available 24 hours for lounging.

The view of the harbor is excellent and if you have kids they love watching the super freighters, tugs and tankers. During the christmas season this is the place.

Would Definately Stay here again

We stayed here in late April of 2004. It was very quiet and peaceful. There were many wonderful restaurants located near the hotel, including a Starbucks and the Peanut Butter Factory. The hotel had an interesting nautical theme and had a great view of the harbor. There were not alot of people rustling around and it made for a great weekend. The rooms were very clean and the staff was very friendly from the moment we arrived. The continental breakfast was excellent all the mornings we were there and provided a wide variety of foods. This hotel was worth the money we paid for it and was located near the historic district. Overall, it was a very pretty hotel to stay at.

A mixed bag but overall good value

My wife and I stayed here on an overnight trip from Houston. I would have to describe staying here as a mixed bag. Yes the location is very convenient to the Strand and you are right on the harbor. The rooms are large and nicely appointed. The rate is decent even with the additional charge for parking. And it's definitely a plus to be able to use the pool at the Galvez. The Galvez has a very nice pool area complete with swim up bar (though I understand the bar is not always open) and you can walk across the street to get to the Gulf. On the negative, the service at the Harbor House leaves something to be desired. It's description as a "limited service" hotel is no joke! The whole staff needs customer service training. It was even more apparent after experiencing the first class service at the Galvez. The tv's are a bit small and I found the mattress to be a little soft though my wife didn't mind that. The continental breakfast complete with bitter coffee and Wal-Mart raisin bread (I saw the box) is nothng special. Maintenance is a little lacking-our toilet handle kept sticking and the air conditioner leaked and kept shutting on and off every few minutes. When I mentioned this to the staff, they got defensive. The Harbor House reputation for quietness is very real. We were watching tv in our room at around 11:30 pm when we got a knock on the door from security asking us to turn the volume down. They had gotten a complaint. We only had the sound up loud enough to be able to hear a news program while sitting in the sofa area located next to the air conditioner which is somewhat loud. If you want a quiet mostly adult place to stay in Galveston that is convenient to the Strand, I think the Harbor House is a pretty good value despite a few negatives.

Great Location

The location was great! It was in a nicer area of Galveston and walking distance to the quaint shopping area downtown. Was not too impressed with room service. Don't expect much for their complimentary breakfast. I would suggest a walk across the street to Starbucks for a quick breakfast. There were no "black out" curtains which made it hard to sleep in and the TV was smaller than average. But overall with the price and the location, I would recommend it.

Unique Place to Stay

This is a charming restored-warehouse hotel located right on Galveston Bay. We have stayed there several times and have always enjoyed the spacious, nautical-themed rooms, each one with an excellent view. Harbor House is located close to the Stand area of Galveston, and is near several good restaurants, attractions, and cruise ships. I would highly recommend it.

A special place to stay in Galveston

We have just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise.Our trip began with a delightful stay at the Harbor House.It is a perfect location for cruise pasengers.the terminal is in walking distance.If you have a room overlooking the terminal , you will see the ship from your room,a beautiful sight ! The staff are very helpful and pleasant Continental breakfast is served in a bright room on the second floor.You can walk to all the downtown attractions.We highly recommend the Harbor House

A great place to start or end your cruise.

We were able to get into the Harbor House Hotel in Galveston Tx. on what is considered the worst weekend of the spring season there, beach weekend when about 100,000 to 150,000 students decend on the seawall side of the island for the rites of spring passage.We were greeted by a wonderful front desk person that had been on duty for two days due to not being able to leave the island because of the crowds. We were checked in quickly and advised not to try to eat or shop on the seawall side, and were given ideas and suggestions on where to go on the bay side of the island the selections that we choose from these ideas were great and we had a great 30th annv. dinner at Willie Gs . Upon reterning to our room we found it ready for use with a special surprise for are annv. Upon departing the next day for 5 days at sea we were able to leave our car on grounds for about a third of what it would cost us if we parked at the terminal. When we return for are next trip we for sure will stay at the Harbor House,

Warehouse on the dock

Excellent nautical ambience, with comfortable, spacious rooms overlooking the boats docked alongside; perfect location for enjoying the harborside life, and the lively Strand, the wonderfully compact downtown area of Galveston. On our recent visit, registration desk service was slow and inefficient...not bad, but slow.